Follow Us

More

Thor: Ragnarok Projected For Thor Franchise's Best Opening

Early box office projections for Thor: Ragnarok put the film on track to easily enjoy the Thor franchise's best opening weekend yet. Marvel Studios is changing things up for the third installment in the Thor movie series. They're moving away from the Shakespearean approach of the previous films and moving completely into the cosmic realms that Thor is meant to roam. To do this, director Taika Waititi joined the project to further differentiate Ragnarok's look and tone from the previous films... and he was also given the franchise's best cast, too.

Thanks to the influx of talent that the franchise has received for Ragnarok, anticipation for the film has continued to run high ever since the first Ragnarok trailer dropped. With tickets now on sale for Ragnarok - which debuts in two months from the time of writing this - it won't be long before Marvel reaps the rewards. Based on the first box office projections for Ragnarok, they should have plenty of reasons to be happy when the movie finally arrives.

Box Office Pro has revealed the long-range projections for Ragnarok and it suggests that Thor is on the verge of his biggest opening weekend yet. The current projection for Ragnarok is an even $100 million opening weekend. Since this is an early projection, Ragnarok's future projections could either go lower or (much) higher, depending on the early buzz around the movie once screenings begin. Assuming that the film opens with at least $100 million, Box Office Pro anticipates that Ragnarok will make $250 million or more domestically, over the course of its theatrical run.

A $100M opening would be great for Ragnarok and keep the franchise moving along an upward trajectory, both critically and commercially. Thor opened to just over $65M in 2011 while Thor: The Dark World took in just over $85M, about two years later. Since it has now been some four years since a Thor solo movie was released, anticipation is all the higher for Ragnarok. That being said, a $100M opening for Ragnarok would be the lowest for a Marvel Cinematic Universe film in 2017, after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 ($146.5M) and Spider-Man: Homecoming($117M).

There are plenty of reasons why Ragnarok is poised to make a significant jump at the box office, compared to the previous Thor movies. Not only is it benefitting from the MCU's track record of late, the movie also features Hulk as a co-protagonist alongside the God of Thunder. Mark Ruffalo has made the MCU's Hulk a fan-favorite and the Thor/Hulk relationship appears to fit perfectly with Ragnarok's general tone. Loki and other Thor regulars are returning here too, so there are other familiar elements to get fans excited. Plus, Ragnarok will introduce Cate Blanchett as Hela, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, Jeff Goldblum as Grandmaster and Karl Urban as Skurge, along with others. As we get closer to Ragnarok's arrival, it wouldn't be surprising to see these box office projections rise even higher.